Permutation-lock



A. G. HOCKETT. PERMUTATION LOCK. APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, I917. RENEWED JAN. 27, 1920.

1 ,335,;581 I Patented Mar 30, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTOR N EY A. G- HOCKETT.

mmummw LOCK.

' APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, I917. RENEWED JAN. 27, 192Q- 1,335,581 j Patented Mar. 30, 1920.,

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY ALBERT G. HOCKETT, 0F CHEYENNE, WYOMING.

PERMUTATION-LOCK.

Application filed July 12, 1917, Serial No. 180,194. Renewed January 27, 1920.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT G. Hoonn'rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cheyenne, in the county of Laramie and State of lVyoming, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Permutation-Locks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to keyless locks of the permutation type.

The main object of the invention is to provide novel and essential details of improvement for a lock of this character which are applicable to all kinds of locks where said features of novelty can be made to coact, these details rendering the lock convenient to operate; diflicult to surreptitiously open; enables the quick arrangement of parts in a special combination, and enables the working of the lock mechanism to open either by sense of touch or visual observation or both together.

Another object is to adapt the novel con-- structive details for production by modern methods of machine manufacture so as to cheapen the lock; enable its rapid construction and afford an absolutely safe look at a moderate cost.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be'made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings z,-

Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a padlock constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 represents a similar view with the front plate removed showing the interior construction of the look, I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. dis a transverse section taken on the line 4-4: of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 represents a front elevation of a door lock constructed in accordance with this invention, and

Fig. 6 is a similar view with the front plate removed to show the interior of the lock.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented B1511. 30, 1920'.

Serial No. 354,516.

1 to 4, a padlock housing or casing 1 is shown which may be of any suitable shape, being here shown rectangular and which is provided with a front plate 2 which may be removed by drilling a hole therein and releasing ccrtain parts on the interior. Pivotally connected to the top of the housing 1 at one side thereof is a shackle 3 preferably of inverted U-shape and the end opposite the pivoted end being adapted to pass through an opening formed in the'top of the housing 1, said end being notched on its outer face as shown at 4 to provide a hook for engagement by locking means hereinafter to be described.

As shown, the front plate 2 has its upper edge beveled at 2 which is designed to slip under the beveled flange 6 carried at the front edge of the top 5. This front plate 2 may be connected with the bottom plate in any suitable manner.

An operating knob 10 is carried by the plate 2 and extends centrally therethrough and is designed to operate in the manner of a push button for releasing certain parts presently to be described.

Mounted vertically within the casing l are a plurality of locking bolts or slides 11, three being. here shown, although it is obvious that any desired number may be employed. These slides 11 are mounted in suitable guides 12 having stops 12 and are connected at their upper ends by coiled.

springs 13 with the top of the casing, their lower ends having flexible elements 14 connected therewith and which are designed to be engaged with spindles 15 which are mounted in suitable bearings formed in the rear wall of the casing 1 and in upstanding posts 16 carried by the bottom of said casing as is shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.

Each of these spindles has a ratchet wheel 17 fixed thereto and as here shown these wheels are provided with eight teeth for a purpose presently to be described. The

front ends of these spindles project beyond I the posts 16 and are made angular toreceive the socketed ends 18 of shafts 19 which project from the front wall of plate 2 of the casing and are provided at their outer ends with hands or fingers 20 which operate over dials 21 mounted on the outer face of plate 2 at the lower left hand corner thereof as is shown clearly in Fig. 1. These dials 21 have eight marks thereon which correspend with the teeth on the wheels 17 so 2 and 4. These pawls are made of different lengths, the front ends thereof being en aged with the wheels 17 as is shown clearly in Fig. 2 and the rear ends thereof are held upward in operative position by coiled expansion springs 24 and by means of which the noses I 22 of the pawls are held in engagement with the ratchet Wheels so that when said wheels are turned toward the left, these pawls will slide freely over said teeth but will operate to lock the wheels against turning in the opposite direction.

A bolt 25 is mounted to slide vertically in keepers 26 carried by the rear wall of the casing 1, said bolt being arranged in longi-- tudinal alinement with the notched end 4 of the shackle 3 when said shackle is in closed operative position as is shown in Fig. 2. A nose 27 projects laterally from bolt 25 and is engaged by a spring 28 which operates to force the bolt outwardly against the end of shackle 3 so that when said shackle is released, the bolt will force it into open position. An arm' 29 extends laterally from the lower end of bolt 5 across the spring pressed ends of the pawls 22 and is adapted to depress them.

A shaft 30 is mounted in suitable bearings in lugs 31 which project inwardly from the guides 12 in which the slides 11 operate as is shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, said lugs beingi slotted so as to permit said shaft to move toward and away from said slides, said slots being so proportioned as to permit said shaft to move into the recesses 11' of the slides 11 when said recesses are disposed opposite said shaft and all of them in alinement and which is accomplished by means presently to be described. A crank arm 32 is carried by the shaft 30 and is mounted to rotate in a bearing 33 carried by the rear wall of the casing and has a. laterally extending finger 34 which normally projects into the path of and engages the recessed or notched end 4 of the shackle 3 to lock said shackle in closed position. coiled spring 35 is connected with said finger 34 and with the rear wall of the casing and operates normally to hold said finger in engagement with said shackle.

An enlargement 36 is formed at the junction of arm 32 with shaft 30 and is posiioned opposite the push button 10 carried by the outer or front face 2 of the lock casing so that when said button is moved inwardly it will engage said enlarged portion 36 and force the shaft 30 inwardly should the recesses 11 of the slides 11 be at that time positioned opposite said shaft. When said shaft is so moved, the crank arm 32 thereof will be rocked in its bearing 33 and thereby move the finger 34 outwardly against the tension of its spring 35 and thus release the shackle 3, but this cannot be accomplished until the ratchet wheels 17 have been so actuated as toproperly position the slides 11 to bring their recesses into longitudinal alinement and at a point opposite shaft 30 and which is accomplished in a manner now to be described.

When the parts are in the position shown in the drawings, to unlock the shackle 3, the hands 20 must be turned to the left, and some will be turned a greater extent than others, it being understood that they will be turned sufficiently to bring the recesses 11 in their corresponding slides opposite shaft 30. It will be seen that by the turning of these hands 20 the ratchet wheels 17 will be actuated and as each of the pawls passes a tooth of the wheel, a click will be heard. These clicks can be counted, there being eight of them to one complete turn of the hand on the dial, two clicksto a onequarter turn and four clicks to a half turn, so that when the lock is operated at night without a light, the operator needs only to count the clicks or turns of the hands'to enable him to determine when the parts are in position to release the shackle, he of course being aware of the combination necessary to effect this release.

of these hands operates to turn spindles l5 and wind up thereon the elements 14, thereby drawing down slides 11 until their recesses 11 are positioned opposite shaft 30. Vhen they reach this position, the puslfbutton 10 is actuated and which engages the enlarged portion 36 at the junction of shaft 30 with its crank arm 32 thereby rocking said arm and turning the finger 34 outward against the tension of its spring 35 and releasing shackle 3. When this shackle is released the spring 28 operating against lug 27 on bolt 25 will force said bolt outwardly against the free end of the shackie 3 and thus open said shackle.

When it is desired to close the lock and lock it, the shackle 3 is moved inwardly a sufiicient distance to force bolt 25 downwardly against the spring pressed ends of pawls 22. This movement of bolt 25 operates to raise the front ends of said pawls and disengage them from the teeth of the ratchet wheels 17. When this release occurs the springs 13 will operate to retract the slides 11 to position their recesses out of engagement with shaft 30, so that the lock The turning cannot be again opened until the operation above described is repeated.

If in trying to unlock the shackle, a ratchet should be turned one notch too far, all that is necessary is to push inwardly on said shackle 3 to release the slides and they will return to their normal position and the unlocking operation may be again started.

I11 the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a door lock is shown constructed on the same principles as that employed in the padlock above described. In this form of the invention a housing l is shown which is also substantially rectangular in form and comprises the rear and front faces, with top and bottom and sides similar to the casing 1 of the other figures. Mounted vertically within this casing 1 are three locking bolts or slides 11 which are mounted in suitable guides 12 having stops 12 at their lower ends for limiting the projecting movement .of the slides. These slides are connected at their upper ends by coiled springs 13 with the top of the casing and their'lower .ends have flexible elements 14 connected therewith and which are designed to be engaged with spindles 15 mounted in suitable bearings in the casing 1 similar to the spindles 15 of the other figures.

Instead of using the shackle 3 in this form, a locking bolt 3 is mounted to slide through one edge of casing l and as here shown is provided on its outer face with a plurality of transversely extending channels 37, two of which are'here shown and which are designed to receive a locking finger 34 carried by a crank arm 32 mounted to turn in a bearing 33 in a manner simi lar to the corresponding parts of the other figures. This bolt 3 is provided along its lower edge with a plurality of teeth 38 with which are meshingly engaged a pinion 39 carried by the shaft 40 which projects through the front wall 2 of the casing 1 and is provided with an actuating knob 41 for turning the bolt to retract it, and when in retracted position, the finger 34; will lie in the forward channel 37, it being shown in Fig. 6 in the rear channel and the bolt in locking position. The crank arm 32" is carried by the shaft 3O similar to the shaft 30 of the other figures and is provided with an enlargement 36 formed at the junction thereof with said shaft and which is de signed to be engaged by a push button arranged outside plate 2 in a manner similar to the button 10 above described.

The slides 11 of this form of the device are connected with the spindles of the ratchet wheels 17 in a similar manner to those above described, and these spindles are actuated from outside the casing by hands 20 in a manner similar to the actuation of the hands 20. The detents or ratchcts 2: of this form of the device have their rear ends supported by coiled springs 24: and a trip member 29 rests on the rear ends of said detents and is designed to be actuated from outside the casing by the button which is turned so as to force the trip member downward into engagement with the rear ends of the detents so that their front ends will rise and release the ratchet wheels to permit the slides 11 under the tension of the springs 13" to return to normal locking position, said slides when in this position bearing against shaft 30 and forcing it out and permitting spring to retract the finger 34: and engage it with the channel 37 of bolt 3 for locking said bolt against withdrawal.

In this form of the invention an ordinary latch L is shown controlled by a knob K outside the casing, but as this constitutes no part of the invention, it will not be described in detail.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof. I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made as arewithin the scope of the claimed invention.

.I claim 1. In a combination lock, an inclosing casing, a locking element carried thereby, means arranged inside said casing for engaging said element, a plurality of spring retracted slides in said casing in which are formed recesses, a shaft arranged across said slides and movable toward and away from them, means controlled by said shaft for engaging said locking element to hold it in locked position, means whereby said slides are actuated to position their recesses in alinement and opposite said shaft, and means on the interior of the casing operated from the exterior to move said shaft into said recesses and simultaneously release said locking element.

2. In a combination lock, an inclosing casing, a locking element carried thereby, means arranged inside said casing for engaging said element, a plurality of spring retracted slides in said casing in which are formed recesses, a shaft arranged across said slides and movable toward and away from them, means controlled by said shaft for engaging said locking element to hold it in locked position, means whereby said slides are actuated to position their recesses in alinement and opposite said shaft, means on the interior of the casing operated from the exterior to move said shaft into Said recesses and simultaneously release said looking element, and means arranged on the interior and operated from the exterior of the casing for releasing said slides to allow them to return to their normal position.

3. A lock constructed with a housing, a locking element carried thereby, means arranged on the interior of said housing for engaging said locking element to hold it in locked position, a plurality of spring retracted slides arranged for reciprocating in said housing and having recesses in their outer faces, a plurality of spindles arranged for rotation in said housing, ratchet wheels fixed to said spindles, flexible elements connesting said slides and spindles, detents engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheels for holding them against the rotating action of said spring retracted slides, means operated from the exterior to rotate said spindles, and means inside said housing for actuating the locking element engaging means, a portion of which actuating means enters the recesses in said slides.

4. In a combination lock, an inclosing casing, a shackle carriedthereby and having its free end extending into said casing when in locked position, said end being notched, means arranged inside said casing for engaging said notched end, a plurality of slides mounted to hold said means in en gaged relation when in normal locked position, cooperating means carried by said slides and said shackle engaging means to provide for the release of the latter when said slides have been moved to locate them in a predetermined position, and means operable from outside said casing to move said slides to so position them.

5. In a combination lock, an inclosing casing, a shackle carried thereby and having its free end extending into said casing when in locked position, said end being notched, means arranged inside said casing for engaging said notched end, a plurality of slides mounted to hold said means in en gaged relation when in normal locked position, cooperating means carried by said slides and said shackle engaging means to provide for the release of the latter when said slides have been moved to locate them in a predetermined position, means operable from outside said casing to move saidslides to so position them, and means operable by the closing of the shackle for releasing said slide locking means to permit the slides to return to initial position.

6. In a combination lock, an inclosing casing, a shackle carried thereby and having its free end extending into said casing and notched, a crank arm having a spring controlled finger normally engaging the notched end of said shackle to hold the shackle in locked position, a shaft connected with said crank arm, a plurality of slides mounted to reciprocate beenath said shaft, said shaft being movable toward and away from said slides, coiled springs connecting the upper ends of said slides with the top.

tion the recesses therein opposite said shaft,

means outside said casing for actuating said ratchet wheels, detents mounted to engage said ratchet wheels to hold them against turning in one direction, and means 7 operated by the closing ofthe shackle to release said ratchet wheels to permit the slides to return to initial position under the action of their springs.

7. In combination lock, an inclosing casing, a shackle carried thereby and having its free end extending into said casing, and notched, a crank arm having a spring controlled finger normally engaging the notched end of said shackle to hold the shackle in locked position, a shaft connected with said crank arm, a plurality of slides -mounted to reciprocate beneath said shaft, said shaft being movable toward and away from said slides, coiled springs'connecting the'upper ends of said slides with the tops of said casing, said slides having recesses formed therein, said recesses being normally out of alinement when the parts are in locked position, spindles mounted in said casing, ratchet wheels carried by saidspindles, flexible elements connecting the lower ends of said slides with said spindles whereby said elements are wound on the spindles on the turning of said ratchet wheels in one direction thereby withdrawing the slides against the tension of their springs to position the recesses therein opposite said shaft, means outside said casing for actuating said ratchet wheels, detents mounted to engage said ratchet wheels to hold them against turning in one direction, a bolt positioned to slide in'said casing and normally arranged in the path of the free end of said shackle, said within the casing and provided with a laterally extending finger for engaging the free end of the shackle, a coiled spring for normally holding said finger in engagement with said shackle end, a shaft connected with said crank arm and extended transversely of said casing, a plurality of slides mounted to reciprocate in the casing below said shaft, said slides having recesses in their outer faces arranged at different positions, means operable from outside said casing to position said slides with their recesses opposite said shaft, means for moving said shaft into said recesses when they are so positioned whereby said arm is rocked and its 15 finger disengaged from the shackle, and means for ejecting the shackle when released.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT e. HOCKETT.

Vitnesses I ELIsHA WARNER, W. A. JONES. 

